Weekly News & Capital Markets Perspective

Monday night I watched most of the final presidential debate and although I find politics generally depressing due to the extreme disregard for practicality, I did find these debates rather interesting. I’m not sure why, maybe because there seemed to be such a wide divide between the two opinions about what each believes are “sound” economic paths on how to help this country make positive progress when it comes to the number one concern on almost everyone’s mind.

Politics by definition are debatable and when you get into any particular political issue they are even more debatable. What I don’t think is all that debatable is sound, practical economic strategy to help an economy grow because I don’t think it can have that many shades of grey. At least none of my college economics professors thought there was much latitude in the “right” answers. The bottom line, at least as far as I can tell is this:

Can we rely on the ability of the very top tier of the wealth pyramid to continue to pay for most of the costs of everyone else’s bills?

Do we really want to begrudge and resent those who have been fortunate enough to be very financially successful in this land of opportunity? Even if it is phrased as ‘let the rich help out a little bit more’, I don’t think that will work, not just from a math perspective but from a social one either. If that is how this country is going to run in the future, what will be the incentive for anyone to work harder, longer, smarter and take more financial risk than most others so as to have it pay off in success and provide financial security, only to then have an even bigger portion of it taken away in the name of “because you can afford it”?

So as we close in on this last week of the voting season, please take the time to consider all of the aspects of your voting decision and not just the politics of it and then make sure you cast your vote because it does make a difference. Not because you may live in a swing state like Ohio, but because we need to care about the future of this country and voting is proof that you care. Because no matter what your political beliefs, the biggest threat to our future success isn’t if a Democrat or a Republican wins the office of President, it’s if people stop caring enough to participate in our country’s political process. And I don’t believe that is debatable.